Stop the Conspiracy to Block Independent Candidates

POLITICAL parties apparently are more preoccupied with undermining independent candidates running for regional offices than creating a healthy democratic election process. Their intention is obvious when the House of Representatives' (DPR) domestic affairs commission sought to change the minimum requirements for such candidates, which it already planned through a revision of Law No. 8/2015 on Regional Executives Elections.

The constitutional court has actually just amended the regulations on the criteria for independent candidates, stipulating that to be legitimate contenders, they must gather 6.5 to 10 percent of the ID cards of their permanent constituents who voted in the previous elections, not the current population. Candidates for the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election, for example, must have the endorsement of at least 525,000 residents, or 7.5 percent of the 7 million strong constituents.